At first he was just curious. But then as he investigated further, he began to paw at the fire and carefully pull out small burning sticks and bits of grass. He would make sure each was put out and then go back and resume pulling the fire apart. Although Bill has never seen fire before in his 12 years, he seemed to know instinctively how to deal with it. Like the wolves, he showed absolutely no fear of fire and when it was just about out, he peed on it.
We have found through the years that the animals here have no fear of fire at all. Wolves will even take burning sticks (from the non burning end) and run about the pen with them as though they have captured a great prize. Rather than be stressful to the animals, the fire seems to actually be an enjoyable thing and useful as behavioral enrichment. They sure have a lot of fun taking fires apart. Their fur acts like an excellent insulator from the heat and keeps them from being burned at all. Of course we have only done this when there was no chance of the fire spreading or getting out of hand. That is pretty easy to accomplish out here in lush Indiana where it is quite wet and green most of the year.
